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Quick 5: Playing the Guys That Want to Play |
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Based on the lineup that Quenneville iced last night in a 5-2 loss vs. the Golden Knights, it's apparent that he is dressing players that he deems earned it. So, if you play well the game before, like really well, expect to get a gold star and maybe even be bumped up the lineup.
This isn't something that is new or alarming by any standards in sports; you want to play the hot hand. However, when you are a team that has lost 7-games in a row and now have a 0.4% chance of making the playoffs, these decisions are going to start to get wacky as the Hawks look towards next year.
Hey, I have no problem giving Tommy Wingels a pat on the back and sending him out on the top line and power play. Tommy looked great and it's sending a message to the team that you play well and you will get ice time.
The only issue I have with that (which is difficult without playing favourites) is if you have guys like Duclair, Hinostroza, Hartman, etc. that are in your plans for next year than play them as much as you can and get them to learn from their mistakes.
I have a feeling that this situation will work itself out in a couple weeks when Stan looks to find suitors for a few guys currently on the roster. The realistic list isn't long of players that he will be able to move, but I would expect there would be some appetite from playoff-bound teams for Bouma, Wingels, Kempny and Franson.
Now, here are my quick 5 thoughts on this Wednesday AM:
1) Speaking of Tommy Wingels, I reported on the message board a few days ago that it sounds like the Hawks and Tommy would like to continue their partnership with an extension. However, Wingels being traded and signing back in Chicago this summer is also an option. Eddie O. even brought this as a possibility as well.
Wingels wants to be here and he would be easy to resign with that in mind. I would expect a 2-year deal @ 800-950k per year would get it done.
2) This leads me to the next topic, centre weakness. I love the Wingels is versatile enough to play in the middle, but realistically, that was a lot to ask of him and he's better on the wing. The same goes for Ryan Hartman. Both of these guys (if on the team next year) should only be inserted at C if there are injuries.
Currently, you have some sort of combination of Toews-Schmaltz-AA-Kampf.
There aren't a lot of appealing names in the UFA market this summer for centres and no prospect coming up to slide in, so I'm interested to see how Stan addresses this area.
3) The Carl Dahlstrom promotion was well deserved, but as I tweeted last night, the Hawks are A) really trying to see what they have in Carl Dahlstrom or B) trying to convince another team that he's NHL ready.
He's now played in 3 straight games and is getting the nod over Kempny (x2) and Oesterle in those games.
He doesn't look awful, but he's not a game changer either way for me. It will be interesting to see what they do with him.
4) I've really been in the start Anton Forsberg as much as possible for the year of year camp and as the current goaltending situation sits, I will still stand by that.
However, now that J.F. Berube's healthy and has played 2 games in Rockford (0-2, 4 GA and 54 SVs), there's talk of bringing him up.
I think everyone will admit the Jeff Glass experiment is over and it does sound like he will be sent down with Berube coming up.
This apprehension by Q to play the "hot" goalie vs. giving a little bit of a long leash to Forsberg (not that he fully deserves it) has me thinking that Stan might go out and get a more proven back up next year.
He has both Forsberg and Berube locked in for reasonable 1-way contracts for 2018-19, but they would be easy to ditch if needed.
I wonder if Berube comes up and rides a winning streak he may draw from interest as a 3rd/4th string insurance policy for a playoff team. He's a bit older and has sat on the bench in the NHL playoffs before for the Islanders (even came in for a game 2015-16).
5) As mentioned above, the Hawks picked a terrible year to be terrible. Couldn't it have been a year when they had a few expiring contracts with more impact players? Then they would really be able to score some solid picks/prospects.
I'll leave you with this to chew on – what if the Hawks kept Hjalmarsson and Panarin and had the same outcome with this season. How much would Stan have been able to get for those guys on deadline day? We may find out with Hammer is Arizona trades him. I would suspect Panarin could have been moved for a king's ransom.
The things that make you go "hmm… "
The Hawks take on Anaheim tomorrow and look to just win a game. The Ducks will be feisty as they are 3 points out of the Wild Card spot and fighting for their playoff lives.
I'll pop back in with anything I hear in the meantime RE: trades/player movement.
See ya out there.
JL
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Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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